Summer Internship: Skiff Medical Center



By: Evelyn Perry
Greetings everyone! I have been interning at Skiff Medical Center in Newton, Iowa this summer. Skiff is a 48 bed municipal hospital serving Jasper County. I have been living in the old hospice wing for the duration of my internship. My preceptor, Steve Long, is an alumnus of our program. 

Throughout my time here at Skiff, I have been able to attend board meetings, interact with patients directly, and shadow in nearly every department. These departments have included: health information management, radiology, plant operations, finance, and the emergency department. It has been very insightful to learn about these departments and how they interact to make the hospital function efficiently and effectively.

During my time here, Skiff announced to its employees and the community they will begin pursuing an affiliation. It has been a great opportunity to learn about communication to key stakeholders as well as observing the beginning of this process.  

Another unique experience this summer was witnessing the transition to a new CEO as my original preceptor took a position at another hospital. The administration changes also gave me an opportunity to meet another alumnus of our program, Jeanne Goche. She took on the role as Interim Chief Administrative Officer at Skiff, which incorporates the responsibilities of the CFO and COO. 

One of my main projects has been working on the patient portal piece for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use. I created a process and implemented a process to enroll patients while they are here as an inpatient. I also participated in a marketing photo shoot for the portal, which should be rolling out soon! I am assessing the possibility of a wound care and infusion center for the hospital. I have had the opportunity to learn about the credentialing process for physicians while helping to organize the current process for maintaining them. I analyzed turn-around time for key lab tests to assess the impact of the decision to move the laboratory facility off-campus.  In addition to these projects, I became a member of ToastMasters, an international program that helps to enhance leadership and communication skills.

Outside of my internship, I enjoyed visiting Maytag Park for dueling pianos, the drive-in theater, and the Maytag Dairy Farm in Newton. With the proximity to Des Moines, I finally tried out Zombie Burger and spent some time at the State Fair.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Adriana Kotchkoski (MHA '24): Nihon Keiei Consulting Group

Image
Konnichiwa from Japan!   As I sit down to write this blog post, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and accomplishment as I reflect on my time as an intern at Nihon Keiei Consulting Group in Osaka, Japan. This summer has been nothing short of remarkable, offering me a unique blend of professional development and cultural immersion that I will cherish forever.   During my time at Nihon Keiei, I had the opportunity to engage in in-depth research and analysis, creating comprehensive market profiles for the healthcare sectors in the Philippines and India. These profiles laid the foundation for strategic expansion plans, and it was an honor to present my findings and recommendations to a senior consultant during insightful one-on-one meetings. These interactions were not only professionally enriching but also allowed me to witness firsthand how strategic decisions shape the course of an organization's growth.   One of the most rewarding experiences during my internship was t...
Read more

Devante Davis (MHA '24): UCHealth - Southern Region

Image
Hello my name is Devante Davis I am going into my 2 nd year as an MHA student at the University of Iowa!    I am currently interning at UCHEALTH southern region in Colorado Springs, and UCHEALTH mission statement is to Improve lives through providing quality care. My preceptor is Andrew Ritchie the Chief Operation Officer of the UCHEALTH southern region. He great a developing talent while unlocking hiding potential within his interns, and fellow! My favorite project was evaluating what the rest of the world is doing to recover from this global nursing shortage. Summarizing the data and be a part of creating a valuable plan to implement into the UCHEALTH southern region. A few other fun events I attended were the pikes peak annual racing event, viper’s baseball game, the incline!  
Read more

Naudya Chhuon, UIHC Accounting and Financial Services (MHA '25)

Image
This summer, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Finance and Accounting Services team (FAS) at the University of Iowa. My internship allowed me to better understand what it is like to work in finance and accounting, especially within the healthcare industry. From managing a vaccination clinic project to tackling financial models, I got to contribute to some and be a part of some fun projects. One of the highlights of my internship was being the go-to person for all things related to the HPV vaccination clinic with the Population Health team. This project provides Shoes for patients under 13 years old who obtain their 2 nd  dose of the HPV vaccine. I found myself at the center of communication between four different teams, which meant I got to lead meetings, and make sure we were all on the same page. Our big event is coming up in the second week of August, and I am proud of how smoothly everything has been running so far.  Another big part of my summer was getting my han...
Read more